Cat lover's moving video among top 20 entries this week for ST, Wherever You Are contest

AMONG the 650 entries submitted in the first week for the ongoing The Straits Times, Wherever You Are contest, one video stood out.

Mr Sufyan Adil Supiani, a Singaporean living in Johor Bahru, made a heartwarming video showing him tenderly singing Jason Mraz's I Won't Give Up to three kittens called Chermain, Louisa and Lucas.

The animal lover volunteered to foster the kittens after his friends found them abandoned in a shoebox when the haze got especially bad last month.

"The kittens were fragile and needed a lot of care, and I enjoyed the process of taking care of them," the 36-year old, who is currently unemployed, said over the phone.

Madam Lee Ah Lock, 83, gives her sister Madam Lee Yoke Ying, 86, a farewell kiss before returning home from Vancouver. The two sisters had not seen each other for 10 years - and believe this will be the last time they will ever meet. -- PHOTO: NG GIN WEN

In the process, the man who is recovering from a panic disorder found that the kittens comforted him greatly.

"The cats calm me down and remind me not to give up on myself," said Mr Sufyan, who is a budding songwriter.

His entry was among 20 shortlisted for the first week.

They range from a picture of a couple running hand-in-hand across Punggol Park to a video of two young boys watching their first-ever National Day Parade.

In the end, he went for Ms Selina Wee Su Lin's photo of her 86-year-old father, retiree Wee Thian Lee, reading The Straits Times while having a home-cooked lunch of fried rice and spinach soup. She won $1,000 cash.

Another strong entry came from Ms Ng Gin Wen, 16, a student at Meridian Junior College.